For the first three months of 2026, data centers were often the sole bright spot in construction. As other markets have faltered, the artificial intelligence boom continues to fuel new data center builds.
That boom was reflected in publicly traded firms’ most recent batch of earnings calls. Even one builder that doesn’t traditionally pursue data centers indicated it is now doing so.
“We are actually doing some data center work on the specialty side and we are exploring ways to expand that currently,” Gary Smalley, president and CEO of Los Angeles-based megaproject contractor Tutor Perini, said on a first quarter earnings call. “We want to make sure that we don’t give up the core market because we know one day that — who knows how long down the road that will be, whether it’s five years or 10 years down the road — that the data center work at some point in time probably won’t be there, at least not as strong as it is now.”
Even still, other risks in the high-flying sector have emerged. Since the beginning of the year data centers builds have faced hurdles in the form of high energy demands and political or public pushback.
Bullish on AI builds
Chief executives on earnings calls touted their various data center wins and how those awards impacted their bottom lines to start 2026.
“We still see that what we call mission critical, which includes the data center work, is still having tremendous opportunities for the company,” said Kyle Larkin, president and CEO of Watsonville, California-based Granite Construction. “We’re successfully delivering and we are supplying materials to projects in Washington, Oregon, Nevada, Arizona, Louisiana and Mississippi.”
Jim Breuer, CEO of Irving, Texas-based Fluor, painted a picture about the long tail these enormous builds promise for contractors.
“Generally speaking, we continue to see hyperscalers signaling a multi-year surge in demand for data center and power infrastructure,” Breuer said.
For Dallas-based Jacobs, data centers’ share of the business grew 100% year over year, to about 3-4%, according to CEO Bob Pragada.
“AI is absolutely driving our business in what’s going on with regard to the AI infrastructure build-out. We’re seriously at an inflection point, and it’s accelerating our entire business,” Pragada said.
Hurdles to building data centers
Several cities and states have pursued legal recourse to delay or completely stop data center construction within the region. These efforts often stem from concerns around energy costs and water use.
Builders are tracking that.
“People in those cities, individuals don’t like the increased number of data centers because they are ugly and they are consuming energy. Energy prices might rise then locally,” said Pontus Winqvist, CFO of Skanska. “It is a potential risk.”
As a result, Winqvist said the Stockholm-based firm is prepared to help major clients develop data centers in other locations, should that become necessary.
In addition, the biggest data center builds come with enormous price tags. That involves extra consideration in the contracting phase.
“Contract and commercial terms in the data center market remain challenging, especially regarding risk allocation,” Breuer said. “We’re staying disciplined and selective, and we’re working to shape deals on a contract-by-contract basis to ensure opportunities meet our return expectations.”
